RAPID CITY – United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Manderson, South Dakota, man convicted of Receipt of Child Pornography and Assault by Beating, Striking or Wounding. The sentencing took place on January 26, 2026.
John Steele, Jr., 51, was sentenced to five years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution and $125 in special assessments to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Forfeiture was also ordered.
A federal grand jury indicted Steele for the charges in July 2024. He pleaded guilty on October 30, 2025.
Between 2012 and 2016, Steele hid his Samsung cellular phone in the bathroom of the home he shared with his girlfriend. Steele surreptitiously photographed a minor female as she exited the shower when the girl was approximately 13 years old. In 2023, Steele assaulted the adult female by striking her with his hand at Manderson. When Steele’s cellular phone was examined as part of the assault investigation, the sexually explicit photos Steele took of the minor were discovered.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc .
This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.
This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox prosecuted the case.
Steele was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — South Dakota — U.S. Department of Justice press release.